Foreign Affairs Minister Alicia Bárcena said to reporters on Tuesday that in both the U.S. and Mexico, the allegations against López Obrador are considered a "closed case." (Cuartsocuro)
A Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) investigation into allegations that Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s 2006 presidential campaign received millions of dollars in drug money is a “closed case” for the United States government, according to Foreign Affairs Minister Alicia Bárcena.
Three media outlets reported last week on allegations that people working on the current president’s unsuccessful 2006 campaign accepted between US $2 million and $4 million from drug traffickers affiliated with the Beltrán-Leyva Organization and the Sinaloa Cartel.
U.S. Homeland Security Advisor Liz Sherwood-Randall and Foreign Minister Alicia Bárcena chaired a bilateral security meeting at the National Palace on Tuesday to discuss border issues and illegal arms and drug trafficking. (Gobierno de México)
López Obrador described the reports as “completely false” and suggested that U.S. government agencies were behind the leaking of information from the DEA probe, which reportedly concluded in 2011.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Bárcena said that U.S. Homeland Security Advisor Liz Sherwood-Randall told the president at a meeting at the National Palace that the investigation is “a closed case for them.”
“This is an issue that occurred in 2006 and all the investigations they did in the United States were closed without finding any kind of crime,” she said.
“… It’s an investigation that in reality is old, right? A journalist gathers old reports from the DEA, but for [the U.S. government] this is a closed case,” the foreign minister said.
AMLO, pictured here in 2006 after losing that year’s presidential election, has referred to Tim Golden’s ProPublica report as “libel.” (Archive)
Bárcena was presumably referring to Tim Golden, who reported in ProPublica that “years before Andrés Manuel López Obrador was elected as Mexico’s leader in 2018, U.S. drug-enforcement agents uncovered what they believed was substantial evidence that major cocaine traffickers had funneled some $2 million to his first presidential campaign.”
Although López Obrador accused the United States government of “allowing these immoral practices ” — i.e. facilitating what he called “libel” — Bárcena said the Mexican government wasn’t seeking an apology from its U.S. counterpart.
“It doesn’t come from the office of President Biden, or the Department of State or the White House,” she said.
“This is an issue that comes more from the DEA … but what I want to say is that this really is a closed case,” Bárcena said, emphasizing that was the situation in both the United States and Mexico.
She asserted that there was electoral and political motivation for the publication of the allegations last week, given that both Mexico and the United States will hold elections this year.
Bárcena, a former high-ranking UN official, has played a key role in managing the relationship with the United States since replacing Marcelo Ebrard as foreign minister in the middle of last year.
Sherwood-Randall has been a frequent visitor to Mexico as the U.S. and Mexican governments seek to address a range of shared challenges including migration and drug trafficking.
In a statement released after Tuesday’s meeting, the Mexican government said that López Obrador had “reaffirmed” Mexico’s commitment to “working together with the United States to manage migration in an orderly and secure manner.”
Tulum is hoping to market itself as a wedding, startup and even a Bollywood destination as tourist chiefs head to India. (Elizabeth Ruiz/Cuartoscuro)
Tulum will be participating in a leading Asian travel trade show held in Mumbai, India from Feb. 8 to 10, as it aims to attract new investors and foreign markets to the city and surrounding region.
Taking place in India’s largest city, the OTM Mumbai 2024 fair will bring together 1,250 exhibitors from 50 countries, including tour operators, wedding planners, travel agencies, airline representatives and hotels.
OTM Mumbai is one of the world’s largest tourist fairs. (OTM Mumbai)
Jorge Molina Pérez, the head of the Tulum tourist board, said the exhibition will highlight Tulum as an ideal location for digital startups, fashion and film productions. Most of all, however, they will focus on capturing the Indian wedding market, as they believe this will encourage longer stays for wedding guests, and generate greater revenue for the local economy.
“Our aim is to showcase the cultural and natural wonders of our city, with a primary focus on the wedding industry,” Molina told newspaper La Jornada. “We believe that this will help diversify the economy and bring in new sectors and industries.”
Molina said the Indian market has the largest population of upper-middle-class individuals in the world, who often travel in large groups and have high purchasing power. Many reside in the United States, Canada, and Europe.
Although there are no direct flights from India to Tulum, travelers from India can fly to Cancún via Istanbul.
According to tourism consultancy IPK International, India became Asia’s largest origin country for international travelers for the first time in 2022.
Over the past three years, Indians made around 1.8 billion trips and the country’s travel industry recorded an 8% growth in both domestic and international travel. Moreover, Mumbai is India’s largest travel source market and acts as the primary exit point for the West and South Indian markets, contributing to 60% of India’s outbound tourist markets.
A drug bust in Sinaloa revealed narcotics hidden inside bee panel boxes. (Wikimedia Commons)
It wasn’t a sting operation, but federal agents did encounter a large number of bees when making a drug bust in Sinaloa on Monday.
After receiving an anonymous tip-off, federal ministerial police traveled to the El Pisal toll plaza on the Culiacán-Los Mochis highway and subsequently stopped a vehicle transporting “wooden boxes with bee panels” (honeycomb panels), according to a statement from the Federal Attorney General’s Office (FGR).
More than 1.2 million fentanyl pills, four kilograms of fentanyl powder, 70 kilos of methamphetamine and five kilos of cocaine were seized. (FGR)
The boxes and panels — on which presumably innocent bees appeared to be minding their own business — were taken to FGR offices “due to the risk” of the situation, the statement said.
At the offices, “personnel specialized in the management of bees” found a large quantity of illicit narcotics inside some of the boxes,” the FGR said.
All told, more than 1.2 million fentanyl pills, four kilograms of fentanyl powder, 70 kilos of methamphetamine and five kilos of cocaine were found.
The driver of the vehicle — who was possibly making a beeline for the northern border — was detained and placed in the custody of federal authorities. It appeared to be the first time that bees had unwittingly colluded in a drug trafficking operation in Mexico.
Morena presidential candidate Claudia Sheinbaum will officially launch her 2024 campaign in Mexico City's central Zócalo square on March 1. (Morena/Cuartoscuro)
Claudia Sheinbaum said Tuesday that she will officially launch her campaign for the presidency in Mexico City’s central square or Zócalo on March 1.
Flanked by three of the five people she defeated to win the ruling Morena party’s presidential candidate selection process, the former Mexico City mayor invited citizens to join her in the Zócalo for an address at 4 p.m. on the first day of the official campaign period ahead of the June 2 elections.
The Zócalo often hosts large-scale political rallies. (Rogelio Morales/Cuartoscuro)
Sheinbaum, who will represent a Morena-Labor Party-Green Party alliance called Let’s Keep Making History, said she will provide a “clear definition of what our national project represents” at her campaign launch.
The project, she told a press conference on Tuesday, includes the constitutional reform proposals presented by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Monday.
Among 20 proposals submitted to Congress is one aimed at ensuring annual minimum wage increases outpace inflation and another that seeks to allow citizens to directly elect Supreme Court justices and other judges.
Sheinbaum said that she and her team — which includes former interior minister Adán Augusto López and Senator Ricardo Monreal — support the proposals.
“From our perspective, they broaden and strengthen the social and human rights in the constitution and strengthen democracy [and] freedoms,” she said.
Sheinbaum is the clear favorite to win the presidential election, at which Xóchitl Gálvez will represent an opposition alliance made up of the National Action Party, the Institutional revolutionary Party and the Democratic Revolution Party and Jorge Álvarez will be the candidate for the Citizens Movement party.
President López Obrador has announced a series of proposed constitutional reforms, which analysts say he hopes will win support for his Morena party in the upcoming elections this year. (lopezobrador.org.mx)
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Monday outlined a package of 20 constitutional reform proposals, most of which have little or no chance of passing Congress in the near term as the ruling Morena party and its allies don’t have a two-thirds majority in Congress.
As announced last month, López Obrador made use of Mexico’s Constitution Day to present a raft of changes he would like to make to the nation’s foremost legal document.
President López Obrador unveiled his raft of proposed changes to Mexico’s founding document on Constitution Day, although few are likely to be approved by Congress in the near future. (Andrea Murcia/Cuartoscuro)
Among his motivations for presenting the proposals at a time when he knows most of them are doomed to fail are to have a bearing on the June 2 elections, and to set the agenda for his likely successor, according to analysts.
Among the 20 proposals López Obrador outlined in a 42-minute address at the National Palace — some of which have multiple aims — are ones to:
“The reforms I propose seek to establish constitutional rights and strengthen ideals and principles related to humanism, justice, honesty, austerity and democracy,” said López Obrador.
The president — a frequent critic of the judiciary who has made extensive use of the military during his presidency and who allegedly wants weaken autonomous institutions to concentrate power in the executive — also said his proposals are aimed at “modifying the content of anti-popular articles” in the constitution that were “introduced during the neoliberal period.”
He defines that period as the 36 years between 1982 and 2018, during which four Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and two National Action Party (PAN) presidents were in office.
The constitutional reform package outlined by López Obrador and delivered to the lower house of Congress by Interior Minister Luisa María Alcalde also includes proposals to provide “preferential” treatment to indigenous and Afro-Mexican peoples; guarantee government pensions for senior citizens and disabled people; grant scholarships to students from poor families and guarantee “comprehensive” and free medical care to “all residents of Mexico,” according to the president’s speech.
One of the reform proposals would allow Supreme Court justices to be popularly elected. (SCJN)
In addition, López Obrador is seeking to modify the constitution to guarantee the right for workers to own their homes; prohibit the mistreatment of animals; limit water use in areas of scarcity to that for domestic purposes; prohibit the sale of vapes “and chemical drugs such as fentanyl”; and enshrine “republican austerity” as “a state policy.”
The train-loving and staunchly nationalistic president also wants to ensure that passenger trains will always be permitted to run on Mexico’s vast rail network — most of which is currently only used by freight trains — and that the state-owned electricity utility, the CFE, will remain a “strategic public company” that operates for the benefit of domestic customers and in the “national interest.”
Some of the constitutional reform proposals López Obrador presented are already supported by government policies and laws, but enshrining them in the constitution would give them added protection, and thus “avoid any anti-popular setback in the future,” in the president’s words.
The president has made the revival of Mexico’s passenger rail network a priority policy. (@lopezobrador_/X)
Other proposals — such as putting the National Guard under the control of the army — were implemented by the current federal government, but subsequently struck down by the Supreme Court.
AMLO’s motivations
According to Mariana Campos, head of the think tank México Evalúa, López Obrador is seeking to obtain “political benefits” by proposing “financially unviable” constitutional reforms that the opposition will reject.
If the proposed reforms are rejected by Congress during the campaign period, the president will effectively demonstrate that his initiatives can only be approved if voters support congressional candidates affiliated with the ruling Morena party and its allies en masse on June 2.
Constitutional reform proposals cannot pass Congress unless they are supported by two-thirds of lawmakers in both houses — a supermajority Morena and its allies don’t have now, but could have as of Sept. 1 if they perform extremely well in the congressional elections.
Campos also said that the presentation of the reforms is “a way to set the agenda” for his “possible” successor, which recent poll results indicate will be Claudia Sheinbaum, Morena’s candidate.
President López Obrador still enjoys significant support from the general public. (Presidencia/Cuartoscuro)
Similarly, analyst and writer Viri Ríos wrote in the Milenio newspaper that “López Obrador is presenting these reforms to set the path for what he believes Claudia’s sexenio [six-year term of government] should be.”
She asserted that an electoral “reading” of the president’s motivation is “mistaken,” writing that “thinking that Mexicans will decide their vote based on a massive short-term legislative discussion” is overly “romantic.”
“… A Mexican doesn’t decide his or her vote that way,” Ríos said, adding that the “main determinant” is the “emotional affinity (or emotional rejection)” some voters have for López Obrador.
The president himself said Tuesday that he presented the reform proposals at this time “because the elections are coming and the people will decide” whether they should be in the constitution or not.
The elections, he added, are not about “which candidate wins” or “which party [or] alliance wins” but about making a decision about a political “project.”
López Obrador frequently says that citizens have to choose between a continuation of the “transformation” project he and his government initiated and a return to the past, a time when he asserts that corruption was rife under PRI and PAN governments that were more interested in looking after their own interests and those of Mexico’s elite than governing for everyday Mexicans.
Some analysts see the reform package as an outline for a Claudia Sheinbaum government, should she win the presidency for Morena in June. (Gobierno de CDMX)
Lawmakers with the PAN, PRI and the Democratic Revolution Party — which together form a political alliance that is backing Xóchitl Gálvez in the presidential election — have claimed that the president’s aim in presenting his package of constitutional reforms is to influence the outcome of the upcoming elections.
The only proposal that the opposition has indicated it will support is to change the pension system so that workers receive their full working salaries in retirement — “something done by no other country, not even those much richer than Mexico,” according to an Associated Press report.
López Obrador said Monday that a 64.6 billion peso (US $3.8 billion) “seed fund” will be created this year to “repair the damage to workers” inflicted by pension systems implemented by two former presidents. The fund will increase “little by little” to support higher pensions for retired workers, he said.
Campos said bluntly that the president’s proposed pension plan “doesn’t have financial viability.”
Sheinbaum — who has a 16-point lead over Gálvez, according to a recent El Financiero poll — expressed support for the reform proposals presented by López Obrador on Monday, saying they would “strengthen rights, freedoms and democracy” in Mexico, “which is the essence of our project.”
Local groups blockaded part of the new Oaxaca-Puerto Escondido highway to protest against the transit of trucks and other commercial vehicles on the road. (X)
After 15 years of stops and starts, Oaxaca’s new highway from the interior to the coast was finally opened to the public on Sunday.
Less than 24 hours after its inauguration, however, the 104-kilometer highway between Oaxaca city and Puerto Escondido was blocked on Monday by residents of the Los Coatlanes area in the Sierra Sur.
The highway will be toll-free until the end of President López Obrador’s term in office. (Presidencia/Cuartoscuro)
Saying they will not allow the new roadway to be operated by the same businesspeople as always, the protesters set up near San Pablo Coatlán for nearly eight hours starting at 4 a.m., allowing passage to private vehicles only.
The new highway spans from Oaxaca City to Puerto Escondido, reducing travel time from 6 1/2 hours to 2 1/2 hours, according to Mexico’s transportation ministry. Google Maps estimates the journey at 3 1/2 hours.
The Barranca Larga–Ventanilla highway passes through 15 communities in the San Pablo Coatlán area, but there are no off-ramps or exits to provide access to locals.
The protesters said the highway crosses their lands, and that there’s an agreement in place saying that the highway can only be used by the public rather than by trucks, buses and other commercial vehicles.
#AlMomento | Comuneros de los Coatlán activan retén en la autopista #Oaxaca – Puerto Escondido En el tramo Barranca Larga – Ventanilla, impiden tránsito de urban de otras líneas pasajeras; solo permiten paso a vehículos particulares. pic.twitter.com/W0bu683yzk
They told government officials they don’t want to make a profit off the new highway, but they want services to improve their communities.
They said now that the highway is open, businessmen want to “dig in their heels” and make money for their own benefit.
They demanded an audit of their municipal president, Gonzalo López Gijón, saying he had been a municipal administrator the last three years, and called for safeguards against having their lands turn into traffic nightmares when cultural events and festivals are held.
José de Jesús Romero López, a Oaxaca state government official, said in a statement that public transportation permits are granted by the Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation (SICT), not protesters. Romero added that the SICT and Interior Ministry (Segob) have asked the parties to come to the bargaining table.
Sunday’s inauguration was attended by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Oaxaca Governor Salomón Jara Cruz and many other government officials.
President López Obrador said that for the last eight months of his administration, no toll will be charged for local users. “There is a proposal that in September only visitors and cargo transportation will be charged, but not Oaxacans,” he said.
Transport minister Jorge Nuño Lara called the highway a long-awaited dream come true.
According to a press release, the López Obrador administration invested more than 10.6 billion pesos (US $625 million) in the project, after restarting construction in 2020 after the work was abandoned during previous administrations. The total investment was more than 13 billion pesos (US $763 million), the release added.
The inauguration came 15 years after work on the highway first began in the Felipe Calderón presidency. Initially, a ribbon-cutting ceremony had been planned for 2012.
The release also noted that the opening of the highway will increase tourism and job opportunities and “boost the economic growth and social development of [Oaxaca] like never before.” An estimated 4,250 vehicles will use the highway daily, the release noted.
Heavy rain in Tijuana led to flooding, as cold fronts continue to roll in. (Omar Martínez/Cuartoscuro)
Baja California and Yucatán, two of Mexico’s most popular destination regions for international tourists, have been affected by strong winds and heavy rain since Sunday.
The National Meteorological Service (SMN) has reported that the sixth winter storm of the season, along with Cold Front 33, is affecting the state of Baja California, while Cold Front 32 and its associated “North” phenomenon are primarily affecting the Yucatán Peninsula.
The SMN warned of a “North” event that will bring cold temperatures and storms to parts of Mexico – primarily the Yucatán peninsula. (SMN)
A “North” event refers to a type of extreme weather event that takes place in Mexico during the autumn and winter. As cold fronts move down into the country from the United States, they can strengthen until reaching wind speeds of up to 100 kilometers per hour. Norte events generally happen in regions along the Gulf of Mexico.
According to the SMN, Tuesday will see Cold Front 33 move over Baja California and Sonora, combining with a polar jet stream which will potentially cause sleet in Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua and Durango and heavy rainfall of up to 3 inches per hour in Baja California, Baja California Sur and Sonora.
On Monday, local authorities in Tijuana declared a state of alert ahead of the storm, urging residents to stay home and avoid unnecessary outings.
Given its proximity to the U.S. state of California which is severely affected by a winter storm causing historic levels of flooding and snowfall, Baja California is also expected to see an increase in river and stream levels, as well as flooding and landslides.
Strong winds were recorded on the Yucatán coast. (Meterología Yucatán)
Starting Thursday, the season’s sixth winter storm will move up out of Mexico and into the central part of the U.S. while causing isolated rain in Mexico’s northeast.
Moving south, heavy rain and strong gusts of wind have caused flooding and fallen trees in some areas of Quintana Roo, particularly in the north. Videos circulating on social media also show seawater flooding the streets of Holbox Island and men navigating the flooded streets in kayaks.
“We continue to work intensely and in close collaboration with municipalities to address all reports received by citizens,” Quintana Roo’s State Coordination of Civil Protection (Coeproc) said in a statement, calling on residents to take precautionary measures.
On Tuesday morning, the governor of Quintana Roo, Mara Lezama, urged residents to take precautions as the Norte event is expected to cause wind gusts of 50 to 70 kilometers per hour, waves as high as 2 to 4 meters and drift currents in bays, docks and beaches, as well as sea ingress into low-lying areas.
The SMN has also warned residents of the Yucatán Peninsula to beware of falling poles, billboards, trees and palapas due to the potential impact of the Norte event.
On the other hand, a mid-level anticyclonic circulation is expected to form over the Mexican Central Pacific, resulting in clear skies and warm evening temperatures of 35 to 40 degrees Celsius in Colima, Guerrero, Jalisco, Michoacán and Nayarit. In Sinaloa, Morelos and southwestern Puebla, as well as on the coasts of Oaxaca and Chiapas, temperatures will be slightly cooler, ranging from 30 to 35 degrees Celsius.
Constituent Congress of 1917 swearing the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States on February 5, 1917. (Wikimedia Commons)
Mexico’s current constitution — also known as the Constitution of 1917 — was the sixth attempt at a governing document to explain how Mexico should be governed and what rights should be afforded to its citizens.
Despite its comparative age — some 107 years — the document is considered to be one of the first modern attempts at a constitution, and was copied by other major political powers of the 20th Century, who wanted to guarantee their citizens the same expansive and protective rights that Mexicans were allowed.
Constitution Day is a public holiday in Mexico, but why has the document become such an important part of Mexican life, and why did so many European powers choose to emulate it?
Five constitutions, five failures
To understand how incredible it was that most of Mexico managed to simply agree on the 1917 document, we need to understand what came before, and how spectacularly bad some of the previous constitutions were.
The Constitution of 1814 Apatzingan. (Wikimedia Commons)
The first document, 1814’s Constitution of Apatzingán, declared the 17 states of Mexico (including the state of Técpan, now part of modern-day Guerrero), established Catholicism as the official state religion and demanded that power be given to the people. The document governed all the territories controlled by Mexico during the War of Independence, but never came into force, and its biggest proponent, José Maria Morelos y Pavón, was killed as Spain regained control of the country.
The Federal Constitution of the United Mexican States of 1824was somewhat more successful. It was the first constitution to be actually implemented, running first until 1835, and then between 1847 and 1857. It recognized 19 states, 4 territories and Tlaxcala (sort of).
The period between 1835 and 1843, when the 1824 Constitution was not in force, was governed by the “Siete Leyes” — seven laws implemented by President López de Santa Ana. The laws were:
Citizenship for anyone who could read Spanish and earned more than 100 pesos a year — except male domestic workers and women, neither of whom could vote.
An elected, 11-member Supreme Court was established.
The Congress of Deputies and the Senate were established (a system that Mexico still uses today).
The Supreme Court, Senate and cabinet would select the President and Vice-President.
The president could suspend Congress and suppress the Supreme Court.
All states were abolished and replaced with French-style “departments.”
Reverting to the 1824 constitution was explicitly banned for six years.
Change came around again in 1843, when the Siete Leyes were themselves replaced, this time with the Bases Orgánicas, which further shrank the voter base by raising the earnings threshold to 200 pesos per year. It also established an electoral college and increased the powers afforded to the president.
This too did not last, and by 1847, the old Constitution of 1824 was back, managing a further 10 years in effect, before it was stripped and replaced by the Constitution of 1857. This time, universal (male) suffrage was guaranteed, alongside freedom of speech, freedom of the press, the right to bear arms and a reaffirmation of the abolition of slavery, cruel and unusual punishment and the death penalty. There were also attempts by the authors to create a federal republic, with an independent judiciary and a small executive, which it hoped would prevent the rise of a dictator.
It did not manage the last part.
The Revolution
The Porfiriato, a 30-year dictatorship under Porfirio Díaz, began in 1876, and lasted in one form or another until 1911, when Mexico was once again plunged into violent civil conflict.
In the struggle to free Mexico from dictatorship, as many as 2.7 million Mexicans (and 500 Americans) were killed in the bitter fighting. Legends like Emiliano Zapata, Pancho Villa, Álvaro Obregón, Venustiano Carranza and Ricardo Flores Magón were born and died, and power changed hands several times.
Díaz fled into exile in 1911 but the country continued to struggle, as the diverse factions that represented Mexico’s varied interests fought for ultimate control. As the fighting rumbled on for years after Díaz’s abdication, political leaders increasingly realized that the revolution would not end until a broad consensus had been reached, and many looked to build coalitions that would help stop the violence.
The Constitution
Original inside cover of the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States. (Wikimedia Commons)
Carranza and his constitutionalist faction hoped that by building a new constitution through consensus, further bloodshed could be averted, and that Mexico could develop as quickly in the 20th century as it had in the 19th.
A constitutional convention was called in Querétaro’s Iturbide Theater, where political groups from across Mexico were encouraged to come together to help shape a final document that reflected the will of the whole country rather than individual factions. The theater was chosen as the site for the new convention, as it was the place where Emperor Maximilian of Mexico was executed in 1867 — and the site of Mexico’s second independence day.
By early 20th-century standards, the resulting work was extremely liberal. The document was pushed further left by pressure from Emiliano Zapata and Pancho Villa, as well as their militant supporting factions. While these two groups were banned from the constitutional congress itself, the power they held in their respective communities meant that their voices were heard in the theater just the same.
The document was extremely pro-freedom, even by modern standards. It guaranteed freedom from slavery for anyone who entered Mexico, regardless of origin. It guaranteed freedom of religion for any citizen, but did not uphold any one religion as an official state doctrine, marking a break from the control that the church had so often exerted over the country.
Mexicans could not be retroactively prosecuted for actions that were not criminal at the time, protecting them from any further changes to the law.
Two years after the adoption of the Constitution, Weimar Germany, the brief republic that followed the collapse of the Second Reich, modeled itself on what had been written in Querétaro. As left-wing politics swept Europe in the early 20th century, even the Soviet Union sought to emulate and promote the high levels of personal freedoms afforded to Mexican citizens. So closely aligned was Republican Spain with Mexican political ideals, that the government-in-exile moved to Mexico City to oppose the Franco regime, where they remained until 1976.
Mexico today
While things got off to a rocky start — Carranza was executed by Gustavo I. Madero after a coup in 1920, Obregón was killed shortly after being allowed a second term, and the PRI party managed to hold onto power from 1929 until 2000 — the fundamental rights that made Europe look across the ocean for an example of human freedom have remained more or less in force.
The right to strike continues to be a cherished and oft-used article of the constitution — although despite the labor law provisions, Mexico continues to have some of the longest working hours in the world.
While not afforded the same near-mythical status as its U.S. counterpart, the Mexican Constitution has held up well today. Though Mexican democracy is far from perfect, there have been no more dictators and the freedoms afforded to Mexicans continue to largely be upheld.
Japanese Ambassador Noriteru Fukushima handed out tamales to Mexico City residents, part of a long-standing Candlemas holiday tradition. (Screen capture)
Japan’s ambassador to Mexico fulfilled his obligation after finding not one but two baby Jesus figurines in his serving of Rosca de Reyes (king cake) on Jan 6: he handed out tortas de tamal (tamal sandwiches) to street cleaners and other workers in Mexico City last Friday.
In Mexican tradition, anyone who finds a baby Jesus in their slice (or slices) of Rosca de Reyes on Jan. 6 — Epiphany or Three Kings’ Day — must buy (or make) tamales for a feast on Feb. 2, Candlemas or the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus Christ.
Salí a calles de #CDMX 🇲🇽 a repartir ricas tortas de tamal como año pasado (este año me salieron 2 niños)
Quise dar a personas que trabajan duro todos los días en la ciudad para agradecer, espero disfruten torta 🫔!
Arigato siempre por ser tan amables conmigo🙇#DiaDeLaCandelariapic.twitter.com/OJh9o2lsNY
“So I’m going to once again hand out these tortas de tamales to people who work close to the Embassy,” he says.
The video shows Fukushima walking along Paseo de la Reforma — Mexico City’s famous tree-lined boulevard — with a crate filled with the sandwiches colloquially known as guajolotas, or turkeys (the origin of the name is a whole other story, or stories!).
“I don’t know, hopefully [people] will accept them,” he jokes.
Japanese Ambassador Noriteru Fukushima was born in Mexico city, and is a citizen of both Mexico and Japan. (Mario Jasso/Cuartoscuro)
The ambassador — who was born in Mexico City to Japanese parents and is a dual citizen of both Japan and Mexico — ultimately didn’t have any trouble finding hungry and grateful workers.
“Thank you for always cleaning,” he says to several Mexico City street sweepers as he offers each a guajolota — a tamal in a bolillo, a type of bread roll sold throughout Mexico and especially popular in the capital.
A boot polisher and a woman with a small street stall also accept tortas from Fukushima, Japan’s ambassador in Mexico since 2021.
“Thank you for accepting these tamales and I hope you enjoy them this Candlemas”, he says at the end of his video.
“Arigato for always being so nice to me,” the generous ambassador said in a written message to workers in the same post.
The tree house rendering, 2023. (Arq. Javier Senosiain)
Despite its name, Tree House (Casa del Árbol) in Celaya, Guanajuato, reviewed by outlets like Amazing Architecture and design firms like Kelly Behun Studio, is not a house in a tree. However, its organic forms give visitors the sensation of being inside a tree or perhaps within a tree trunk or branch. The house is essentially designed to resemble the inside of a tree.
The 225-square-meter Tree House was completed in 2012. Javier Senosiain, the architect behind the building, adapted the house’s design to accommodate a large pepper tree already standing on the property. This pepper tree, which gives the house its name, is the main feature of the building and is fully integrated into the interior of the main room.
Pepper tree and garden under the tree house living room floor. (Arq. Javier Senosiain)
Tree House’s design was inspired by the shapes of the pepper tree, which it was designed to respect. The room the tree stands in is barrel-shaped and has specially-designed, aesthetically pleasing openings that allow its thicker branches to pass through. Before construction began, Senosiain observed that the tree’s roots rose about 25 to 30 centimeters above street level. Accordingly, he designed the living room to be elevated as well, with the roots covered by soil and a one-meter space between the soil and the living room floor.
Elevating the living room floor not only allowed for the integration of the tree’s roots but also provided the opportunity to install a glass floor in the space. This unique feature allows for a direct view of the garden below, allowing residents to immerse themselves in nature while inside the house.
Tree House, as its name might also suggest, is built next to a forest in the city of Celaya, which experiences intense heat and drought. The design of the house was specifically conceived of as an extension of the forest, blending seamlessly with its surroundings. The large garden surrounding the house further enhances the feeling of being in the countryside, creating a tranquil and natural environment for residents to enjoy.
Organic design features of Tree House
Tree house bathroom. (Arq. Javier Senosiain)
The first thing that strikes the eye in Tree House are the evocative organic forms that transport you inside a plant, tree, or botanic organism. Light is also an impressive quality in this surrealistic space: its brightness enters each room through the windows, which emulate the shape of cells, transmitting feelings of warmth and that the structure is alive.
You won’t find any corners in Tree House. The house’s unconventional architectural design deviates from the typical use of squares and rectangles, creating a space free of rigid angles. The absence of corners gives Tree House a sense of fluidity and movement, enhancing its unique and organic atmosphere.
In a style reminiscent of Gaudí, Tree House is decorated with amazing mosaics and beautiful tile collages that give the house a cosmic touch. Spread across the floor and strategic places like the kitchen walls, these details are one of the house’s most inspiring features.
Tree House is crowned by a spacious terrace that provides breathtaking views of the surrounding forest and the adjacent garden. This expansive outdoor space creates a serene and rural ambiance. The house features a natural green roof that can be accessed from the bedrooms or through a ramp that connects to the garden on the first floor. This green roof not only adds to the house’s aesthetic appeal but also provides insulation, reduces stormwater runoff and promotes biodiversity.
The main room in Tree House is barrel-shaped and contains a triple-height lounge area. This unique architectural feature creates a sense of grandeur and spaciousness, making it the perfect place for gatherings and relaxation. Located on the upper level of Tree House, which resembles a flying saucer, is the master bedroom. This private sanctuary is accompanied by a dressing room and a luxurious bathroom, offering a tranquil and comfortable retreat.
Tree House is equipped with various eco-conscious appliances which minimize its environmental impact. Solar water heaters harness the power of the sun to provide energy-efficient heating. Additionally, the house has soap water treatment cells and a gray water treatment cistern installed under the parking lot. These systems help recycle and reuse water, reducing water consumption and supporting sustainable practices.
Javier Senosiain’s world of organic architecture
The magnificent light coming through the windows of the tree house. (Arq. Javier Senosiain)
Tree House is a remarkable example of Senosiain’s unique architectural style. The 75-year-old architect is renowned for his innovative and avant-garde designs, including Quetzatlcoatl’s Nest and Nautilus House, both located in Naucalpan, north of Mexico City. However, Tree House stands out for its simplicity and sobriety compared to Senosiain’s other creations.
One of the most significant attributes of Senosiain’s work is his commitment to humanism and respect for nature. Tree House is a prime example of organic architecture, a movement that promotes harmony between the human habitat and the natural world. Senosiain’s philosophy is evident in the house’s integration into its environment in Celaya, creating a symbiotic relationship between the living space and nature.
Tree House not only brings a refreshing architectural style to the city of Celaya but also contributes to Mexican architecture as a whole. It is a piece of cultural heritage that strengthens the connection between nature’s and humanity’s needs for harmony and well-being.
Ana Paula de la Torre is a Mexican journalist and collaborator of various media such as Milenio, Animal Político, Vice, Newsweek en Español, Televisa and Mexico News Daily.
